At the November Pacific Fisheries Management Council meeting, the 2008 harvest guideline (HG) for Pacific sardines was established at 89,093 metric tons (mt) for the fishing year beginning January 1, 2008. Also, an incidental catch set aside of 10% (8,909 mt) of the HG was established to prevent premature closures of other coastal pelagic species (CPS) fisheries. Furthermore, incidental catch set aside amounts for each seasonal period were created based on historical landings of sardine catch in other CPS fisheries such as squid and anchovy. Therefore the directed sardine fishery will operate under an Adjusted Allocation of 80,184 mt (see table below).

If the incidental set aside is not fully attained or is exceeded in a given allocation period, the National Marine Fisheries Service may adjust the directed harvest allocation to account for the discrepancy for the next allocation period as an automatic action.

For example, if the directed commercial sardine harvest is attained and other CPS fisheries achieve their incidental set aside, retention of sardines may be prohibited. If a set aside amount is not used it may be rolled into the next seasonal period Adjusted Allocation. Please note that adjusted allocations in the table below are subject to change.

The Pacific sardine HG is allocated seasonally as follows:

January 1, 35% of the HG to be allocated coast wide;

July 1, 40% of the HG, plus any portion not harvested from the initial allocation, to be reallocated coast wide; and

September 15, the remaining 25% of the HG, plus any portion not harvested from earlier allocations, to be reallocated coast wide.

Jan 1- June 30

July 1- Sept 14

Sept 15 – Dec 31

Total

Seasonal Allocation (mt)

31,183

35,637

22,273

89,093

>Set Aside (mt)

4,633

1,069

3,207

8,909

Pre-season Adjusted Directed Allocation (mt)

26,550

34,568

19,066

80,184

Actual In-seasonDirected Allocation (mt)

26,698

39,053

18,350

84,101

WA/OR/CA combined TotalDirected Landings

26,698

40,765

NA

67,463

Preliminary 2008 Oregon sardine landings. (Numbers are sardine weights and do not include other species weights landed.)

Do you have a question or comment for ODFW? Contact ODFW's Public Service Representative at: odfw.info@state.or.us
Do you want to enter your opinion about a specific issue into the public record? Contact: odfw.comments@state.or.us